A major plan in Drogheda will see over 200 residential units built at the former cotton mill site on Greenhills Road.

The Greenhills Co Ownership, a locally-based consortium, has just lodged plans with Drogheda Borough Council for a redevelopment of the 2.7-hectare (6.67-acre) mill site close to the River Boyne.

The scheme will be located on the east side of Drogheda beside the residential areas of Maple Drive, Pinewood and Westcourt.

The cotton mill, which ran off an underground river, dates from the turn of the last century. Mill work ceased there in the 1970s but a number of local trades still operate from warehouses on the site.

The developers plan to demolish all existing buildings on the site except the existing mill building, a natural stone administration building, entrance lodge and chimney stack, to make way for 207 apartments, a crèche, an eight-bedroom aparthotel, five retail units and a gym. It will be laid out in 15 buildings ranging in height from one to four storeys.

The chimney stack is to be restored, the administration building is to be turned into a crèche and the mill building and the lodge will be turned into apartments.

The scheme will have a formal arrangement and will "respect the existing structures on the site", according to Colm Horan from Dublin-based Oppermann Architects which has designed the scheme.